The present invention relates generally to armrests for chairs and more particularly, to an armrest assembly which is adjustable in a plurality of aspects.
A wide variety of adjustable office chairs are presently available. In an attempt to adapt the chair to a particular user or task, various adjustment mechanisms have been provided. Such chairs may, for example, include vertically adjustable seat height mechanisms, swivel tilt mechanisms, and adjustable back height mechanisms. Additionally, such chairs may be provided with adjustable armrest assemblies. Many such chairs have been provided which have an adjustable height armrest, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,125 to Watson, et al. Other such chairs have armrests which can be adjustable laterally to effect the spacing between the armrests, or armrests which can be rotated in towards the user or out away from the user. It is also known for an armrest to provide adjustments in multiple aspects, such as his disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,267 to Peterson, et al., which discloses an armrest assembly wherein the armrest can be adjusted vertically and an armpad portion of the armrest can be moved laterally, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,578 to van Hekken, et al, which discloses an armrest which can be adjusted laterally, vertically, forwards and backwards and rotationally. The van Hekken, et al. patent is owned by the assignee of this application.
One concern with armrests which are adjustable in multiple aspects is that each such adjustment requires the user to initiate adjustment in each aspect using different adjustment mechanisms. This can be cumbersome for the user in that an adjustment in one aspect may affect the desired adjustment in another aspect, requiring multiple adjustments for each aspect until a comfortable position is achieved. Therefore, a need exists for an armrest providing a single mechanism which controls the adjustment of two or more aspects of the armrest, thereby allowing two or more aspects to be adjusted at the same time.
The present invention is directed to an armrest assembly securable to a chair and simultaneously adjustable in two or more aspects with a single adjustment mechanism. Specifically, the armrest assembly disclosed herein provides for vertical height adjustment and rotational positioning using a single adjustment mechanism which is easily accessible to the user when the user""s arm is in a resting position on the armrest.
The armrest assembly having features of the present invention described above includes a base having a means for attaching the armrest to the underside of the seat of a chair or to the frame of a chair. The base is connected to a tubular vertical post. The vertical post has an array of recesses aligned in rows and columns on one side thereof. A shroud is slideably and rotatably disposed on the vertical post. The shroud houses a locking mechanism consisting of a bar having a plurality of pins inserted therethrough which engage the recesses defined on the tubular vertical post, thereby locking the armrest in place. The pins are locked in place and released by a second bar which slides up and down adjacent to the first bar. The second bar has indentations defined therein to allow the pins to be disengaged from the recesses when the portion of the second bar having the indentations is positioned over the pins. An armpad portion is attached to the top of the slideable shroud portion. When a handle connected to the second bar is engaged by the user, the plurality of pins are disengaged from the recesses on the post, thereby allowing the shroud and armpad portions of the armrest to be adjusted vertically and rotated about a point approximately in the center of the armrest. When the desired position has been achieved, the user disengages the handle, thereby allowing the pins to engage the corresponding recesses on the tubular vertical post nearest the selected position, locking the armrest into position with respect to the post.
Other details, objects and advantages of the inventions will become apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings of the present preferred embodiments thereof.